Blue is the colour

What is it about blue? The websites that are part of our life and define our expectations of what a site should look like are all blue. Google , MSN.

Whether you are a political blue or red, your online news site is blue. Times Online, Guardian. The colour of the BBC News home page changes constantly but people have this image in their head of the BBC site being blue. Why is that?

I like to think it's a Chelsea thing. Why would you support Arsenal when you could be a blue? Manchester United - losers, City - winners. Everton - winners, Liverpool - losers.

Sadly the reality is less tribal. Whenever we try red, clients ask for a softer site. Blue seems to simply be gentler on the eye, easier to take in. The joy of red is the impact it can give a headline - the differentiation it can provide to part of the site.

What's important is to recognise that a site doesn't have to have blue. Check out Behance Magazine. It doesn't get any better than that - and no blue in sight.

So we may be the finest team in the world, but blue doesn't always have to be the colour.